Tea for Tuesday: Twinings Blackcurrant, Ginseng & Vanilla

Twinings Blackcurrant, Ginseng & Vanilla Fruit Tea

The first flavour that I decided to try for Tea for Tuesday was Blackcurrant, Ginseng & Vanilla from Twinings Fresh & Fruity range. The back of the packet indicated that this particular infusion is "naturally caffeine-free", so that was helpful!

The colour isn't as deep red as most blackcurrant teas tend to be, but watching the orangey red swirls diffusing their way around the cup was still rather enjoyable (or perhaps I just need to get out more, haha ;D). There was a faint aroma of vanilla as the boiling water hit the bag, but that dissipated quite quickly and the tea was quite odourless after that. 

As for the taste, the strongest flavour was undoubtedly that of the blackcurrant at first, before the faintly medicinal, but not unpleasant, smoothness of the ginseng came through. The vanilla merged nicely into the other, stronger flavours and the combination reminded me somewhat of a fruity version of elderflower. The packet also suggested that to add some sweetness, honey worked well, but I don't eat honey so I added a few drops of agave nectar instead. I did like the added sweetness, but it certainly wasn't a bitter tea and so it wasn't really needed. 

Definitely a flavour I'd have again!

Tea for Tuesday

I hate to sound like a stereotypical British person here, but I really love tea! It's warming, refreshing, comforting, and delicious all at the same time and nothing else quite matches up to it. For the past several years I've mainly opted for green tea, no (soy) milk, no sugar, because I got used to its particular flavour whilst on holiday in Japan, as the hotel my friend and I were staying at provided it for free next to its hot water dispenser! 

However, as I suffer from a rather debilitating form of chronic migraines, I've been told to cut out all caffeine from my diet. Green tea was the only thing that I ate/drank that contained caffeine and so, unfortunately, that means it had to go, as I'm not really fond of the decaffeinated versions of it that I've tried previously. 

In light of this, I've decided to try out as many flavours of caffeine-free teas and infusions as possible and to write about them in this blog every Tuesday. Currently, I have seven different flavours to sip my way through, but if anyone has any other suggestions, including your own recipes, I'd love to hear about them!

To read about all the caffeine-free teas and infusions I've tried so far, have a look at the Tea for Tuesday tag.

365 Days of Art: Iridescence

154. Iridescence.

Today's 365 Days of Art post comes in the shape of this gorgeous little iridescent insect! In reality, the subject was much more stunning, but you'll just have to make do with my representation of the tiny dear, sitting on a crystal. (Excuse the perch and background, they aren't the focus of the picture, so I didn't spend much time on them.)

Thus concludes the set of themes from 2 weeks ago!

53. The Sun and the Moon.

67. Winged creature.

76. Werewolf.

106. Yourself as the opposite gender.

154. Iridescence.

315. The five senses.

333. Someone lying down.

Next up on my 356 Days of Art list:

365 Days of Art: Opposite Gender

106. Yourself as the opposite gender.

Well, it looks as though I'm still not caught up with the challenge, but I've made good progress at least. There isn't a rule that says I have to complete seven pieces a week, that was just a target that I thought would make the goal of 365 Days of Art easier to achieve. 

Anyway, onto today's picture: Yourself as the Opposite Gender. I found this quite difficult, because many of the people I know are rather gender fluid and so I was unsure what exactly would make me more "manly". As it happened, I decided upon a moustache and a shirt on which a "manly" slogan was written! 

Next up on my 356 Days of Art list:

365 Days of Art: Chevron

71. Chevron.

Another little experiment as part of the 365 Days of Art challenge that I set for myself. 

Next up on my 356 Days of Art list:

365 Days of Art: The Five Senses

315. The five senses.

The Five Senses is the second of today's 365 Days of Art pieces; this time, it's a digital painting. I felt like experimenting with a different style to my usual, so the colours are more muted and the lines are a little softer. Of course, there is still an eyeball and a tongue! ;P

Next up on my 356 Days of Art list:

The Post of Christmas

Lego Pierrot & Vanilla & Macadamia Nut Lip Butter

I'm not religious, and so today was the day of gift exchanging. Honestly though, I exchanged presents with people yesterday. The large majority of my family lives hundreds, if not thousands of miles away from me, so I spent yesterday with a my mother and a friend of mine (and my five cats :D). I cooked a vegan Christmas dinner for the three of us, and it was a pleasant time!

The presents I received were:

• Lego Pierrot (I collect Pierrot-related items)
• DMMd manga vol. 1&2
• DMMd Yonkoma Anthology
• Vanilla & Macadamia Nut Lip Butter
• Merry Moos Selection Box
• Hallowen Coins
• Booja Booja Truffle Selection No. 2
• Neon yellow ankle socks

Merry Moos, Hallowen Coins, Booja Booja Truffle Selection No. 2

DMMd Manga Vol. 1 & 2

Neon Yellow Ankle Socks & the DMMd Yonkoma Anthology

Ah, I am a very lucky person! (Also, just in case you were wondering, the yellow socks were a joke present from my friend, relating to one of the characters from DMMd, haha). I also spent today with said friend, and a lovely time was had. Hurrah~!

Hopefully all of you had a fun holiday time as well! :)

365 Days of Art: Winged Creature

67. Winged creature.

Today's 365 Art Challenge post: a little ladybird in purple and yellow!

Next up on my 356 Days of Art list:

365 Days of Art: Someone Lying Down

333. Someone lying down.

Often, when I walk past open doors in my dreams, I catch glimpses of a figure lying on a bed beyond. Usually, they are male and have liquid running from their eyes and mouth, with an expression of visible distress / disgust on their face. The sight of this person is quite unpleasant, because I never know why they are unhappy or what I should do to help them, and walk past the room without entering. That scene has appeared at least ten times in my dreams, so today I decided to draw it as part of the challenge.

Next up on my 356 Days of Art list:

365 Days of Art: Monster Possession

3. Choose your favourite possession. Make a monster out of it.

My laptop probably isn't my favourite possession, but I had to make a decision, so that was it. Perhaps if it really did morph into a tentacled goat monster, it would become my favourite though! A pen and ink drawing this time, just to let my dear laptop get some rest. ;D

Next up on my 356 Days of Art list:

365 Days of Art: Werewolf

76. Werewolf

Well, here is my very belated werewolf, which should have been finished by the 13th. Oops! Above he can be seen, halfway through his transformation, shrouded in fog and moonlight. I found this rather slow going, as I'm not a particularly avid fan of the werewolf sub-genre (though I love horror), but it was interesting to do at least. (I was very tempted to draw Ren, but resisted in the end. If you know who Ren is, you get a special prize...maybe ;D).

Next up on my 356 Days of Art list:

53. The Sun and the Moon.

67. Winged creature.

76. Werewolf.

106. Yourself as the opposite gender.

154. Iridescence.

315. The five senses.

333. Someone lying down.

Since I'm behind by just over a week, I also need to complete the following by December 27th:

365 Days of Art: The Sun & The Moon

53. The Sun and the Moon

Continuing my 365 Days of Art challenge I decided that, as I'm fairly terrible at drawing people, personifying yet another theme would be a good idea! So, here we are, number 53 - The Sun & The Moon.

Hopefully I'll manage to get the rest of this week's themes completed over the next day or two.

53. The Sun and the Moon.
67. Winged creature.
76. Werewolf.
106. Yourself as the opposite gender.
154. Iridescence.
315. The five senses.
333. Someone lying down.

365 Days of Art: . Something Green, Western European Myth, Alpha. Beta. Delta. Gamma. (Theta)

58: Something Green

Here are the next three pieces from the 365 Days of Art challenge that I set myself. This update is a little behind the original deadline (December 6th), but oh well! You can see the other half of this week here.

83: Western European Myth (Krampus)

341: Alpha. Beta. Delta. Gamma. (Theta).

The next week of the challenge should be completed by the 13th, and I'm more than halfway done with the first picture already. The random numbers of the themes for this week were half chosen by a friend of mine, and half by a random number generator:

53. The Sun and the Moon.
67. Winged creature.
76. Werewolf.
106. Yourself as the opposite gender.
154. Iridescence.
315. The five senses.
333. Someone lying down.

See you in a few days with another update! :)

365 Days of Art Update: Dia de los Muertos, Magical Girls, Flowers & Fat Cats

This is an update post for the 365 Days of Art that I'm currently doing. 

50: Your Favourite Holiday - Dia de los Muertos

Above is number 50 (Halloween is actually my favourite, but I draw that all the time, so I chose Dia de los Muertos, which is a close second). The rest of my progress so far this week can be found below and you even get a little bonus limerick with number 12.  I'm just that kind! (Excuse the poor quality photos of the hand drawn ones!)

The random numbers for this week (Nov. 29th - Dec. 6th, 2014) are:

4. A "Speedpaint" using only the binary/pencil tool (pixels).

10. Yourself as a magical girl/boy.

12. Try to create something in the style of another artist.

50. Your favourite holiday.

58. Something green.

83. Western European myth.

341. Alpha. Beta. Delta. Gamma.

4. A Speedpaint

10. Yourself as a magical girl / boy

12. Something in the style of another artist (Edward Gorey)

365 Days of Art

I started this challenge on November 29th, 2014, and was originally going to complete it within a year. However, for various reasons, I've since decided to simply complete the challenge without a time limit. To view all of the entries so far for this challenge, you can view the 365 Days of Art tag.

After a short break, I've returned to this blog! In an effort to keep myself posting regularly and inspired, I've set myself the goal of creating 365 pieces in 365 days. It was put together from bits and pieces of various art challenges, as well as some suggestions from friends and additions that I made myself. It's not necessary for me to post something everyday, as long as I complete all 365 in the specified time limit, but I will post my updates at least once a week. I'm also going to use a random number generator to choose seven tasks per week for me, though I may also choose some if I feel like working with a particular theme at certain times.

My list:

(Pictures I'm currently working on are in bold, finished items have links to the post about them.)

☆Birthday☆

I shall update with catch up posts very soon, as I've been absent for some time now, but today was the glorious day of my birth! I had a rather sedate, but fun day, filled with music and dorkery with friends. I was given some presents, which I will keep to myself (they aren't things), though I'm very grateful for them ^.^ My friend Nasu also made me a giant birthday cake, as he's a wonderful person:

And then, there was this gorgeous creation, from the darling Rina (who blogs at Kreativ):

Thank you for your dandy donkey! Haha :D

sukekiyo at O2 Academy

Yesterday afternoon, I got the train to London in order to meet up with my friend Kei (Doing a Thing & Unfortunately Oh!), so that we could then go to see a rather excellent band, sukekiyo, live at O2 Academy Islington (I just wanted to go and enjoy the show, rather than to take photos, so the above picture of my ticket will have to do, sorry!). Whilst waiting in the line outside, Kei ran into a friend of hers & we also got talking to a German girl who had won tickets to the concert and was extremely excited about it. Her enthusiasm was great and I'm so glad that someone like her won those tickets, as opposed to someone totally indifferent to the whole thing! Anyway, we entered the venue after a short while and waited whilst various unrelated songs played, before the show began at around 8pm. 

Unfortunately, I don't remember the set list in order. I do, however, know that they played the whole of their first album, plus a new song too, which made for a decent length of set. Kyo, sukekiyo's singer, had impressive vocals live, with a great range, even staying (mostly) in tune when screaming/grunting. That may not seem impressive, but it is, believe me! The rest of the band also gave solid performances, with Takumi, Yuchi, and Uta switching between different instruments - Takumi from guitar to keyboard, as well as doing the programming via laptops,  Yuchi from bass to upright bass, and Uta from guitar to taishougoto to Japanese zither - and drummer Mika not missing a beat. The result of such diverse talent on one stage was unusual and interesting music executed incredibly well.

Although music rather than theatrics is very much the focus of sukekiyo's performances, there's still something strangely captivating about the atmosphere they create and the stage presence that they have as a collective whole. I would highly recommend going to see them live should you ever have the chance to do so!

EDIT: If you want to listen to some of their music / watch some of their videos, sukekiyo now have a YouTube channel: sukekiyo on YouTube

100 Happy Days: Day 59 - Immortal Chi

This evening we went to watch a "martial arts spectacular" from China, Immortal Chi, at the Princess Theatre, after making a spur of the moment decision to go, and buying tickets yesterday. I wasn't sure what to expect from the show, going by the description on the website: 

"A Kung Fusion - Shaolin Warriors + Cirque Du Ciel = Immortal Chi"

However, I'd never been to a martial arts based show before, so I thought it would be fun and interesting to watch something new. I wasn't disappointed, as the music, multimedia images, acrobatics and lighting were all wonderful. (Well, there were some slapstick comedy bits - I really do not enjoy that form of comedy - but  it was fairly brief and the rest of the show made up for it, so I'm willing to overlook it, haha). 

It was a fun evening!

100 Happy Days: Day 58 - A Walk Along the Front

A walk along the seafront at sunset, with the silhouettes of palm trees making this town look tropical.

100 Happy Days: Day 57 - Hollyhock Frocks

A delicate hollyhock flower, swaying in the breeze, like a 1950's petticoat.

100 Happy Days: Day 56 - Silliness with Friends

Of course there was a hand with an eye on it and then of course the hypno-eye was involved!

100 Happy Days: Day 55 - Tutankhamun

Today's photo is an Ancient Egypt-themed BEAR card that I found randomly.

100 Happy Days: Day 54 - Plums, Cherries & Apples

Plums

Seeing trees fruiting is always a happy moment, especially when they're in your own garden!

Cherries

Apples

100 Happy Days: Day 53 - Bones and Skulls and Dots and Black and Pink and Crossing Stars

Some of my favourite tights and shoes.

Giraffe legs

100 Happy Days: Day 52 - Dolly's Drum Devil

This is a challenge within a challenge, and one that has brought me several Happy Days! Complete 100 art themes in 100 days; this was number 12 (part 1). I titled this little lot of lovelies: "Dolly's Drum Devil" & will share the whole challenge with you when I'm finished.

100 Happy Days: Day 51 - Orchid No. 2

The first orchid bloom of the second orchid plant.They were white with dark pink centres last year, but it looks as though they've since had a pink rinse!

100 Happy Days: Day 50 - Catacushion

The decadent and godly feline pictured on the cushion above is far too wondrous for mortal explanation. (Or, look what appeared in my house today). Day 50 was truly a glorious one!

100 Happy Days: Day 49 - I Am Such A Crafty Crafter...

A knife, various colours of pen, a set square, foam board, and some PVA sealer & primer...no, I don't know who trusted me with such things either!

100 Happy Days: Day 48 - ...and a Pear in a Pear Tree

Today, a pear appeared in my garden; its photo will make a lovely addition to my 100 Happy Days!

100 Happy Days: Day 47 - The Lazy Demon

Today, Nosferatu thought that he would try to impersonate a little demon and, for a while, he was quite convincing.

However, it soon became apparent that it was far too much effort for very little reward...

...and so instead, he napped upon a chair, which was covered with an utterly demonic fluffy blanket. Ha!

100 Happy Days: Day 46 - The Blackberries Were Late & So Some Were Early

The above photograph is of some of the blackberries that have grown in my garden. Ordinarily, they wouldn't be ripe until the end of August, but these particular blackberries were rushing to ripen for a secret meeting, and so some of them arrived rather early this year. There are still masses and masses of little green and red jewels left though!

100 Happy Days: Day 45 - The One-Winged Owl-gel

I was fortunate enough to attend a school that had a pottery shed & kiln, eco-garden, indoor swimming pool, French club, various sports clubs, and many other wonderful things happening all the time. It wasn't a private school or anything like that; it was just a rather lovely one! When I was around 8 or 9 years old, we had a trip to a local bird of prey sanctuary and a guest speaker then came in to teach us more about owls during one afternoon. I thought that they were stunning creatures, and the following week, I made this little owl for my parents in a pottery class. Unfortunately, one of his wings fell off during the firing, but I was still proud of him, haha.

It may not be a photograph of something I did today, but the memory made me happy nonetheless!